Dennis' Eulogy

Mrs.Dorothy Hartel

All of us here today have one unique common life experience: we all have or had a Mother.

From the time of conception, a mother’s mind automatically turns to her child. She dedicates the best years of her life to promoting the welfare and happiness of her child. She continuously sacrifices without expectation of return. It is love for the sake of love; it is a selfless love. The closest expression that we have on earth to the universal love of God is the pure reflection of God’s love emanating from the heart of a Mother.

That is why in the Bible, one of the Ten Commandments tells us we should honor our mother. And in other scriptures around the world, this same theme of honoring the Mother is evoked. One such verse, known to perhaps a billion people, goes:

Matri Devo Bhavah, Patri Devo Bhavah, Guru Devo Bhavah, Athiti Devo Bhavah.[1]

Here, Mother holds the first place above all.

The edict in this verse that I learned many years ago has always been easy for me to practice because of the Mother I was destined to have. I could easily understand why it is the Mother who holds the first place above the father, the teacher, and the guest.

I, my brothers and sister, their children and our friends all have many wonderful memories of Mother or Grandma. After all, she lived for 95 years, and we had plenty of opportunities to experience them. I would never have enough time here to recount them. All of you have your own memories to cherish and live by, and I have mine.

While we were young she worked tirelessly to keep us on the straight and narrow path. But once we reached maturity, she cut us loose. She wanted us to be strong and to stand on our own two feet. Whenever we discussed with her what path in life we wished to take, she would say, “If you really believe that this will make you happy, I want you to do it.” And once we did, she always supported and encouraged us, and even actively helped us in many ways.

She was a constant encouraging force of love for all members of her extended family, completely without judgment. This love would immediately be evident whenever one of us walked into her room. She would spontaneously greet us with a beaming smile, that same warm, affectionate smile that she would give us when we first saw her after, perhaps, a year’s absence. But sometimes, it wasn’t a year’s absence. We would only be gone an hour. And she would greet us like this every day! Numerous times! And none of us can ever forget the genuine gratitude she always expressed for even the slightest attention or service given to her.

This embodies what Mother is to me. It is something I will never forget and I will always miss.

A famous poet wrote: “Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.” On Monday morning, we, her three children, held her hands as she silently stepped into that light of dawn. And for this, we feel blessed and will be forever grateful.`